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In Reply to: RE: Vintage low cost speakers that still fly under radar posted by Neff on February 25, 2012 at 11:14:15
Has an 8" woofer I think.
A good speaker with a bigger woofer will usually cost you more than $100 in great shape (unless you luckily stumble on to some 70's ARs or JBL L100s or something like that.. but unlike the A25, they used surrounds that will be in need of replacement now).
The Dynaco is a great natural sounding speaker.. commonly found for right around your friend's price point & it's reasonably efficient enough to use lower powered amps with it.
I have an unrestored pair I play with a 20wpc Fisher integrated in my office & they sound real natural & nice to me.. with more than decent bass.
The original cabinets aren't quite big enough, ideally, for the very nice Seas woofers that are in there.. but for a casual system, i wouldn't sweat that at all.
Many also "upgrade" them with newer tweeters from Seas or Morel (think only a drop in replacement from Seas is still an option), but check out places like Madisound online & see what they have or recommend.
What kind've amp do u guys have lined up for the system?
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I haven't heard any of them for many years but when they were in production I much preferred the A-35 and the later A-25XL to the A-25s. I don't recall ever hearing or seeing the A-50. Any of the Dynacos are probably a good bet.
Peter Snell era (pre-1986 or so) Snell Es or Js would be my first choice but the woofers will need new surrounds. They are significantly better than Dynacos, ARs, KLHs, EPIs and Large Advents IMO. The Cizek Model One is not that easy to find but another excellent option. It also used foam woofer surrounds IIRC so they would need replacement. If you luck into a pair of Cizek KA-1s buy them despite the smaller woofer. The molded concrete Rauna speakers are another unlikely score but very good if the enclosures are intact. The KLH 6 and most of the EPIs aren't bad.
With used speakers watch out for inappropriate replacement drivers. There are a lot of idiots out there.
The A-25's are a great value and easy to find. They seem kind of like Dynaco ST-70 amps - the price seems to always be about the same, so, apart from inflation, I suppose, you can just about always sell them for what you paid. They do turn up on eBay quite often, though shipping cost could be a factor. I haven't seen them in the local Goodwill (I kinda think there's some kind of leak between the donation station and the store - nothing but sh!t ends up in the store) but have seen them on craigslist from time to time.
I have a pair of them I've used with a Dyna ST-70, Fisher 500 & 800, Marantz 8B, Dyna Mk III's, etc., and they sounded just fine with all of them. Not hyper-efficient, mind you, and not really exceptional in any respect, but very pleasant, non-fatiguing, nice to listen to.
The A-25's bass poops out at about 50 Hz and the top end rolls off about about 12 Khz. But these are speakers which sound like music and obey the first law of speakers: get the midrange right!
They don't need gobs of power and have a flat impedance curve, so they're not going to interact with tube amps having a high output impedance.
20-25 watts is fine, although the speakers will never deliver ear-bleeding levels.
The A-50 (if you can find it) has the same tweeter, so the top end will be the same. It uses two woofers, so the bass is a little more authoritative and deeper.
When they 1st came out Stereophile reviewed them as having the best bass there was. They didn't mean the deepest but the cleanest. And since they were the best selling audiophile speaker of all time they can still be found pretty easily.
Found a pair of Dynaco A25's at our local thrift several yrs ago for $5. Amazed at how good they were. Used in primary system for a while until they were edged out by a vintage pair of KLH 6 found at the same thrift for $12. The last year or so, thrifts have become a dry well for vintage gear in our area. Craigslist could be a good bet. Prevailing market price will be found on ebay.
Jim
After I dragged a pair of free Dynaco A-25 speakers home (one speaker wasn't working) and spent ten minutes on repair I was shocked to find that I preferred them to the audiophile-approved ACI Sapphires I had at the time. Even more so after replacing the single capacitor in the crossover with something not 35 yrs old (I used Obbligato copper caps).
They work great with tube amps (I've used them with an Eico ST-40, an Onix SP3, and my current Audiomat Prelude Reference) and capacitor-coupled vintage SS amps like the Marantz 2230 receiver. I still have my pair and still love 'em.
Wouldn't hesitate to recommend them with enthusiasm.
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